2008 Central Ontario Summer Skate – Pre-Novice Free Dance Report

Kaylene Beatty & Kalim Schieck – Flamenco/Spanish flavor

Beatty & Shieck have made definite improvements since last season, when they finished 12th at the Skate Canada Western Challenge. Although they were quite hesitant in their movements, they performed the elements fairly accurately. Their best element was their straightline lift, called as a level two element, where Schieck traveled forwards in a crouched position and Beatty was arched backwards. In order to score higher and avoid negative GOE, they can work on skating with more attack and being more confident, especially given the character of the music. Their score of 22.59 ranked them fourth in this dance.

Katie Desvaux & Dmitre Razgulajevs – music with yodeling

Although they are smaller, Desvaux & Razgulajevs had more glide and push off the blade than the team that skated before them. They hesitated entering their level three twizzles, but executed the difficult element reasonably well. Their level two straightline lift, which earned them +.17 GOE, was a cute addition to the choreography, with Razgulajevs crouching and holding Desvaux with her legs extended in front of her. The strength of this program was the charming choreography, which suited them perfectly. Although they skated without major mistakes, they were reaching for each other at times, which is something that can be fixed with more time to work on this program. Their score of 29.79 was the third-best in the free dance, just a point out of second place.

Brittany Dwyer & Tanner White – music like “The Feeling Begins,” but it was something different

Dwyer & White’s free dance had moments that were very strong, but it seemed like they lacked confidence needed to really sell the program. For example, they entered their level three twizzles with a lot of speed, but then they lost the unison and had problems on the exits. They also had to absorb a zero element. Their curve left, in which Dwyer is in a catchfoot position, was not given a level or any points. Overall, the dance’s choreography had a lot of character in it, but Dwyer & White themselves have room to grow with the program as far as offering more expression. With 20.44 points, they were fifth in this dance.

Mackenzie Bent & Garrett MacKeen – tango

Skating with a lot of polish for so early in the season, Bent & MacKeen won the free dance with a score of 34.61. They were the only team that did not perform any level one elements. The highlights of the program were their lifts, which were strong and confident. Their opening element, a level three straightline lift, earned them +.33 GOE. In this element, Bent is in a full split position while MacKeen skates forward on one foot. Their rotational lift, another level three element, was also done well. In that lift, Bent holds her right blade to her head while in a stag position, holding onto MacKeen’s neck and shoulders with one arm. As a whole, the program started extremely well, but they lost speed — as well as character — at the end. Carrying the intensity through the entire program would be a good goal for them as they continue this season, but this was a great start.

Jayden Rau & Tyler Grunt – jazzy music, sounded like it could have been a show tune

Rau & Grunt performed the only level four element in the competition, a rotational lift. In this risky element, Grunt held onto Rau’s knee with one hand while she clasped her hands around his arm. They received the base mark for this lift. Unfortunately, they had a mistake on the twizzles, when Grunt ended his first set earlier than Rau did. Still, they earned a level three on the twizzles, although they had -.67 GOE. This fun and energetic program carried a lot of speed, and they were very entertaining en route to a second-place free dance that was given 30.76 points.